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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
‘We are being slaughtered': Gazans risk their lives on desperate journeys for food
Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza , Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, miles-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive. Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother of four ducked down and hid behind a pile of rubble on the roadside as gunshots echoed nearby. 'You either come back carrying [food] for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud, or you go back upset [without food] and your children will cry,' said the 38-year-old, a resident of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. 'This is life, we are being slaughtered, we can't do it any more.' READ MORE In the past two days, dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations (UN) and international relief agencies, Gaza-based medics said. On Thursday, medics said at least 51 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the US - and Israeli -backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of people being killed while seeking food. Palestinian children gather at a hot meal distribution point in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. Photograph: Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images The Israeli military said there were several attempts by 'suspects' to approach its forces in the Netzarim area in the central Gaza Strip in a manner that endangered them. It said forces fired warning shots to prevent suspects from approaching them and it was currently unaware of injuries in the incident. In an email, GHF criticised Gazan health officials, accusing them of regularly releasing inaccurate information. It said Palestinians do not access the nearby GHF site via the Netzarim corridor, but it did not address questions about whether it was aware that such an incident had occurred. Thirty-nine people were killed, meanwhile, in separate Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. One of those strikes killed at least 19 people, including women and children, in a tent in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they added. [ Gaza's last hospitals battle to save patients amid severe depletion of life-saving medical items Opens in new window ] Another strike killed at least 14 people and damaged several houses in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on those attacks. In recent days, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire and used warning shots to disperse people who it said posed a threat when approaching areas where troops were operating. It said it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties. Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through the GHF, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. A plume of smoke billows in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip after an Israeli air strike on Thursday. Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images The Gaza health ministry says hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites since late May. The UN rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, an allegation Hamas denies. The GHF said in a statement on Wednesday that it had distributed three million meals across three of its aid sites without incident. The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. [ I showed my friends in Israel this photo of a starving baby in Gaza and asked them if they knew Opens in new window ] Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned on Thursday that more than one million people were without adequate shelter, saying equipment such as tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1st. Nawajha returned empty-handed on Wednesday from her journey to find food, flopping down exhausted on the dusty ground outside the tent in Gaza City where she has been sheltering with her family for the past 20 days. They say they try to force their way into the distribution site when trucks carrying aid arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes fight over sacks of flour coming off UN trucks. '[When] there is no food, as you can see, children start crying and getting angry,' said Nawajha. 'When we are for three, four kilometres or more on our legs ... Oh my ... our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off.' – Reuters
Arab News
31-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Indonesian NGOs demand Israel be held accountable over atrocities in Gaza
JAKARTA: Indonesian civil society organizations are urging the international community to hold Israel accountable for its attacks on Gaza, as Tel Aviv's latest military onslaught on the besieged enclave pushed the territory's healthcare system to the brink of collapse. All hospitals in northern Gaza were out of service as of Friday, according to Jakarta-based NGO Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, which funds the Indonesia Hospital located in the Gazan city of Beit Lahiya. Al-Awda Hospital — the only remaining facility providing health services in north Gaza — evacuated its patients on Thursday following orders from the Israeli military, which launched a wave of new attacks earlier this month across the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of people and forcing most public facilities in the area to close. 'Even after various condemnations and warnings, Israel the colonizer continues to commit crimes across the Gaza Strip,' said Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of MER-C's executive committee. 'MER-C's stance is in line with the Indonesian constitution, in which we do not recognize colonization in any shape or form … Israel's colonization and crimes against humanity (in Gaza) must be held accountable at the international level.' Indonesia is a staunch supporter of Palestine, and sees Palestinian statehood as being mandated by its own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism. The Indonesia Hospital was one of the first targets hit when Israel began its assault on Gaza, in which it regularly targets medical facilities. Attacks on health centers, medical personnel and patients constitute war crimes under the 1949 Geneva Convention. Israel's latest offensive comes after a two-month blockade on the enclave after Tel Aviv unilaterally broke a ceasefire with the Palestinian group Hamas in March. It is a continuation of Israel's onslaught of Gaza that began in October 2023 and has killed more than 54,300 Palestinians and wounded more than 124,000. The deadly attacks have also put 2 million more at risk of starvation after Israeli forces destroyed most of the region's infrastructure and buildings and blocked humanitarian aid. Aid only recently began to enter the besieged territory, although only in limited quantities. 'The suffering of the people is massive due to starvation, and there is limited aid because of the blockade,' Habib said. 'A humanitarian crisis must not be used as a transactional tool. Stop this war and open the food blockade in Gaza. We will continue to voice this demand.' Various scholars and human rights organizations have said that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, including Amnesty International and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention. 'Zionist Israel's crimes in Gaza must be held accountable. They must be put on trial and punished for genocide. There is no longer doubt that their crimes constitute genocide,' Muhammad Anshorullah, who heads the executive committee of the Jakarta-based Aqsa Working Group, told Arab News on Saturday. 'Netanyahu's regime must be arrested, tried and punished, just like how the Allied powers arrested, tried and punished Nazi elites through the Nuremberg Trials. There is nothing more urgent globally aside from stopping the genocide in Gaza.'
Al Jazeera
22-05-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Israeli strikes kill 51 in Gaza as aid groups collect limited supplies
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed dozens of Palestinians since dawn, medical sources said, as limited supplies of humanitarian aid trickled into the Palestinian territory after Israel eased its total blockade. Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 51 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday, including 25 in Gaza City and northern areas of the Strip. At least 10 people, including nine members of the same family, were killed in an Israeli attack that hit an area housing displaced people in the al-Baraka area of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Five people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Bakhit family home in the as-Saftawi area, in northwest Gaza, Wafa reported. In Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave, a tank shell hit a medicine warehouse inside Al-Awda Hospital and set it ablaze, the health ministry said. Rescue workers had been trying to extinguish the fires for hours, it added. Tanks are stationed outside the hospital, medics say, effectively blocking access to the facility. The attacks come as aid groups collected humanitarian supplies carried by about 90 trucks that have entered Gaza since Israel began allowing limited goods in earlier this week, the United Nations said on Thursday. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Humanitarian agency OCHA, said the trucks that entered carried medicine, wheat flour and nutrition supplies. Aid groups face significant challenges distributing the aid because of insecurity, the risk of looting and coordination issues with Israeli authorities, Laerke added. The Gaza Government Media Office said late on Wednesday that 87 aid trucks were allocated to international and local organisations to meet 'urgent humanitarian needs'. Al Jazeera's Tarek Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said the food trucks entered on Wednesday and 'successfully off-loaded' at designated UN distribution centres. Since then, some bakeries have 'resumed operations', he said, citing Gaza's media office. 'This has been a significant logistical step forward,' Abu Azzoum said, but noted that the supplies were still a 'trickle' compared with the needs of the population in Gaza, where experts warn of a looming famine. Due to security concerns, food aid has also not yet reached the northern part of Gaza, where thousands of civilians are also under siege, our correspondent said. 'The question here remains whether Israel would allow an unconditional flow of aid to the Gaza Strip,' he said, adding that the UN has been demanding at least 500 food trucks be allowed into the territory daily after more than 80 days of a complete blockade. On Wednesday, the UN said it was trying to get the desperately needed aid as quickly as possible into the hands of Palestinians amid delays because of fears of looting and Israeli military restrictions and strikes. Palestinians have been scrambling for basic supplies after weeks of near-total isolation, with Israel's blockade leading to critical food and medicine shortages, and fears of a widespread famine. According to the UN, half a million people, or one in five people in the Gaza Strip, are facing starvation while the entire population continues to face a critical risk of famine. Pope Leo XIV described the situation in Gaza as 'worrying and painful' and called for 'the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid'. In recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is days away from implementing a new aid system in Gaza that has come under heavy international criticism. He said Israel later plans to create a 'sterile zone' there, free of Hamas, where the population, which has repeatedly evacuated and relocated throughout the war, would be moved and receive supplies. Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,509 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18. At least 53,655 have been killed since Israel launched its assault on Gaza in October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Al Jazeera
22-05-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Israeli strikes kill 47 in Gaza as aid groups collect limited supplies
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed dozens of Palestinians since dawn, medical sources said, as limited supplies of humanitarian aid trickled into the Palestinian territory after Israel eased its total blockade. Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 47 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday, including 25 in Gaza City and northern areas of the Strip. At least 10 people, including nine members of the same family, were killed in an Israeli attack that hit an area housing displaced people in the al-Baraka area of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Five people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Bakhit family home in the as-Saftawi area, in northwest Gaza, Wafa reported. In Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave, a tank shell hit a medicine warehouse inside Al-Awda Hospital and set it ablaze, the health ministry said. Rescue workers had been trying to extinguish the fires for hours, it added. Tanks are stationed outside the hospital, medics say, effectively blocking access to the facility. The attacks come as aid groups collected humanitarian supplies carried by about 90 trucks that have entered Gaza since Israel began allowing limited goods in earlier this week, the United Nations said on Thursday. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Humanitarian agency OCHA, said the trucks that entered carried medicine, wheat flour and nutrition supplies. Aid groups face significant challenges distributing the aid because of insecurity, the risk of looting and coordination issues with Israeli authorities, Laerke added. The Gaza Government Media Office said late on Wednesday that 87 aid trucks were allocated to international and local organisations to meet 'urgent humanitarian needs'. Al Jazeera's Tarek Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said the food trucks entered on Wednesday and 'successfully off-loaded' at designated UN distribution centres. Since then, some bakeries have 'resumed operations', he said, citing Gaza's media office. 'This has been a significant logistical step forward,' Abu Azzoum said, but noted that the supplies were still a 'trickle' compared with the needs of the population in Gaza, where experts warn of a looming famine. Due to security concerns, food aid has also not yet reached the northern part of Gaza, where thousands of civilians are also under siege, our correspondent said. 'The question here remains whether Israel would allow an unconditional flow of aid to the Gaza Strip,' he said, adding that the UN has been demanding at least 500 food trucks be allowed into the territory daily after more than 80 days of a complete blockade. On Wednesday, the UN said it was trying to get the desperately needed aid as quickly as possible into the hands of Palestinians amid delays because of fears of looting and Israeli military restrictions and strikes. Palestinians have been scrambling for basic supplies after weeks of near-total isolation, with Israel's blockade leading to critical food and medicine shortages, and fears of a widespread famine. According to the UN, half a million people, or one in five people in the Gaza Strip, are facing starvation while the entire population continues to face a critical risk of famine. Pope Leo XIV described the situation in Gaza as 'worrying and painful' and called for 'the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid'. In recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is days away from implementing a new aid system in Gaza that has come under heavy international criticism. He said Israel later plans to create a 'sterile zone' there, free of Hamas, where the population, which has repeatedly evacuated and relocated throughout the war, would be moved and receive supplies. Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,509 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18. At least 53,655 have been killed since Israel launched its assault on Gaza in October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Gaza live: 'No flour, no food, no water' - Palestinians still waiting for aid
'No flour, no food, no water': Gaza still waiting for aid "There is no flour, no food, no water," Sabah Warsh Agha, a 67-year-old woman from the northern Gazan town of Beit Lahiya, has said. "We used to get water from the pump, now the pump has stopped working. There is no diesel or gas." Palestinians in the enclave are still waiting for the promised arrival of food, despite mounting international and domestic pressure on Israel to allow more aid across the border. Fewer than 100 aid trucks have entered Gaza, according to Israel's latest figures, since Monday, when Benjamin Netanyahu's government agreed to lift an 11-week aid blockade. And with air strikes continuing to pound the enclave, local bakers and transport operators said they had yet to see fresh supplies of flour and other essentials. Abdel-Nasser Al-Ajramy, the head of the bakery owners' society, said at least 25 bakeries that were told they would receive flour from the World Food Programme had seen nothing. UK sending £4m aid package to Gaza The UK has announced £4m of new humanitarian support for Gaza. The government says the package will cover essential medicines and medical supplies for up to 32,000 people, safe drinking water for up to 60,000 people and food parcels for up to 14,000 people. The money is to be given to the British Red Cross to deliver humanitarian relief in Gaza through its partner, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. It comes after David Lammy yesterday announced new sanctions hitting violent West Bank settlers, paused free trade agreement negotiations with Israel and called Israel's actions "egregious" and "intolerable". Announcing the package, Jenny Chapman, development minister, said: "The UK is clear - Israel will not achieve security through prolonging the suffering of the Palestinian people." Merz 'very concerned' about Gaza situation Friedrich Merz is "very concerned" about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, his spokesperson says. The German chancellor is in close contact with other European nations to convey his worries to the Israeli government, Stefan Kornelius added. "It is always important for the German government to keep its lines of communication open with the Israeli government and to be able to make its points directly," he said at a government news conference. In pictures: Gazans queue for food as aid supplies stuck Here are the latest images from Gaza City, where Palestinians desperately wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen. As we've been reporting, humanitarian aid trucks have slowly entered Gaza in the past two days but the UN says supplies are yet to reach civilians due to new "long, complex" Israeli security protocols. IDF says it 'fired warning shots' after diplomats 'deviated from approved route' in West Bank The Israeli army has confirmed its troops "fired warning shots" after a diplomatic delegation in the West Bank "deviated" from an approved route. The Palestinian Authority said earlier that a group of regional, European and Western diplomats had gathered to assess the humanitarian situation in Jenin. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the delegation went into "an area where it was prohibited from staying". It said troops "fired warning shots", and that there was no damage or casualties reported. The IDF's statement says officers from the unit "will soon hold personal conversations with the diplomats" and update them on the findings of the investigation looking into the matter. It says the IDF "regrets the inconvenience caused". Israel says 115 'terror targets' struck across Gaza in 24 hours The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says its air force struck 115 "terror targets" throughout Gaza over the past day. "The targets included launchers, military structures, tunnels, terrorist cells, and additional terrorist infrastructure site," it said. The IDF also says it killed a Hamas militant that it says was part of the 7 October 2023 attack. Israel's aid announcement is a 'smokescreen', MSF says The MSF medical aid group, also known as Doctors Without Borders, says Israel's decision to allow a limited amount of aid back into Gaza is "merely a smokescreen to pretend the siege is over". It calls on Israel to stop the "deliberate asphyxiation of Gaza and the annihilation of its healthcare system". Pascale Coissard, MSF's emergency coordinator in Khan Younis, said the "inadequate" amount of aid going into the enclave shows Israel wants "to avoid the accusation of starving people in Gaza, while in fact keeping them barely surviving". Watch: 24 hours of UK political reaction to Gaza The UK has suspended trade talks with Israel over what the foreign secretary David Lammy described as "intolerable" attacks in Gaza - but how has Westminster reacted to Israel's aggression? Sky's political correspondent Tamara Cohen explains the past 24 hours in British politics' reaction to Gaza. UAE says it's reached deal with Israel to provide aid for Gaza The United Arab Emirates has confirmed it's reached an agreement with Israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. It said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's foreign minister, and his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, spoke on the phone last night to finalise the deal. Abu Dhabi says the food will address the needs of approximately 15,000 civilians as part of its "initial phase". It says the aid includes "essential supplies" to support the operation of Gazan bakeries "as well as critical items for infant care". Israel is yet to comment on the agreement. How much aid has entered Gaza - and where is it going? By Ben van der Merwe, digital investigations journalist The first aid trucks have begun entering Gaza after 78 days of Israeli blockade. The United Nations said nine trucks were given permission to enter on Monday, of which five were actually able to cross into the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, the UN said it had received approval for "around 100" more trucks to go into Gaza. That is still well below the 500 trucks per day that the UN says crossed into the Palestinian territory before the war started in October 2023, and are necessary to meet its needs. The five trucks that entered on Monday remained near the Kerem Shalom crossing overnight, according to the spokesperson for the UN's aid coordination office OCHA, Jens Laerke. It is not clear whether they subsequently departed for distribution centres within Gaza, or if more trucks have since entered Gaza.
